The present invention relates to wheelbarrows for transporting relatively small loads.
Conventional wheelbarrows comprise a frame with two spaced arms defining handles, supporting legs and a wheel assembly located at the forward end of the wheelbarrow.
This type of wheelbarrow has a number of drawbacks for the user. First of all, the user must lift and carry at least about one-third of the load because of the location of the bearing zone of the wheel or wheels of the wheel assembly on the ground. Another drawback is related to the fact that since the wheel assembly is determined or fixed, the wheelbarrow is inconvenient on certain types of ground or terrain (i.e., grass, gravel, sand or mud). Finally, known wheelbarrows have only a single stable position which is defined by the supporting legs. It is, however, often inconvenient to store a wheelbarrow in this position.
The various drawbacks of prior art wheelbarrows are disclosed namely in British patents 6,788 and 608,297 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,572,531 and 4,252,334. In all these prior art devices the wheel assembly and the container or barrow have a relative position such that the center of gravity of the barrow is always longitudinally offset relative to the wheel assembly which precludes proper balance of the wheelbarrow. Moreover, no means has been proposed to adapt a wheelbarrow to different kinds of ground or terrain.
An object of the invention is to overcome the various above-mentioned drawbacks.